‘Mystery Science Theater 3000′ Launches Comeback Kickstarter

It’s been 16 years since Mystery Science Theater 3000 went off the air and into deep space, but since then it’s had an unusually steady presence in pop culture. Its DVDs continue to sell, and various spin-off projects like Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic continue to thrive, which means that in today’s comeback culture the creator of the show Joel Hodgson really had no choice in what to do: He had to launch a comeback campaign on Kickstarter.

Joel says he needs at least $2 million to bring back the adventures of an unlucky Gizmonic Institute employee and his two robot friends, who (in case you’re not familiar with what Mystery Science Theater 3000 is) watch old movies and crack jokes while they play. The plan is to produce an initial run of episodes with the money obtained from fans, then shop it out to cable channels and/or online streaming platforms so the show can find new life with today’s live-tweeting youngsters.

The show has raised more than half a million bucks in its first day, so it seems like it’s well on its way to reaching its initial goal on Kickstarter right here. But you have a month to get in on the action.